Landscape of natural product diversity in land-plants as source for anticancer molecules

Abstract

The land plants are an ancient lineage that has been constantly used in folk medicines by almost every human civilization. Several phyto-constituents with therapeutic potential have been studied for antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidative, antiinflamatory, and anticancerous efficacy. Natural products and phytochemicals obtained from microbes and plants growing in marine and terrestrial environment have served as a major source in anticancer drug development. The search for novel drug continues in the goals of cancer therapy due to the resistance developed against chemotherapeutic drugs and their side effects. Exploring the diverse plant kingdom for their therapeutic value has been for ages and the emerging new technologies have paved new hopes in this area. This chapter aims an overview on the phytochemicals derived from the diverse plant kingdom that have therapeutic properties and are potent anticancer agents. © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.